Gun Street Ghost gets real at the hi-dive on Friday, August 17

If you were to put together a short list of the most interesting indie-rock bands from Denver in the past ten years, it would probably include at least one of the groups featuring either Mike Perfetti or Tyler Campo. Anyone paying attention over the years probably heard of or saw Raleigh, Johnny Knows Karate, Ideal Fathers, Cowboy Curse or Port Au Prince. But Gun Street Ghost (due at the hi-dive on Friday, August 17) isn't exactly resting on its members' laurels. Instead, the five-piece — which besides Perfetti and Campo includes Le Divorce alum Kim Baxter on drums, Tiffany Meese of the Centennial on keys and Daniel White of Bellowers on guitar — fills out spare melodies in a countrified mode. Perfetti's knack for clever turns of phrase and the collective's skill in matching mood to dynamics combine to make Gun Street songs shine. The band's debut EP, One Home, which is being released at this show, is simultaneously wry and earnest.

Tom Murphy is a writer, visual artist and musician who grew up three blocks from Denver in Aurora, Colorado.